


Pail and Shovel

by dannihowell (iguessicantry)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, kid!phan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 16:58:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7626616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iguessicantry/pseuds/dannihowell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>follow me on tumblr<br/><a href="https://danni-howell.tumblr.com/">dannihowell</a></p></blockquote>





	Pail and Shovel

Omega children are to be protected. They’re so fragile. They always have bruises, cuts and ‘owies’. Omega children are smaller than children of other genders. They rarely raise their voices even though their personalities may demand it. They cry more often than not. They pout and whine. Should they push back, their peers become violent. Omega children appear weak but more often than not, they are the strongest.

Dan Howell is six when his parents decide to go to the beach on summer holiday. Mummy buys him a pail and shovel for making sandcastles and Papa buys him a lifejacket so he doesn’t ‘get carried away’ with the sea.

Dan’s mother complains of being too hot but not wanting to go into the sea. She’s pregnant with Dan’s little sister so she’s always upset or uncomfortable. Dan doesn’t know why but he figures if he had a baby in his tummy, he wouldn’t like it very much either.

Curls wild and the breath of fresh ocean air in his lungs, Dan hurries towards the shore. For the first few hours, he plays with Papa and only stops when Mummy insists that he eats. “I’m not hungry,” he says politely as possible. Papa hands him a sandwich and that is the end of the argument.

As the sun moves across the sky, the sand becomes too hot to stand. Because he’s just eaten, Dan is relegated to the towel beneath a wide beach umbrella. His mother reads as his father naps. Dan’s bored.

He’s so bored that he decides that the sand is not too hot! He can play and swim if he wants. But then he thinks what if Papa wakes up and sees him in the ocean all by himself. Papa wouldn’t like it, he knows.

Dan grabs the little red pail and green shovel and perches himself right on the edge of the tide, where the water grabs hold of the sand and bathes shore before returning to the sea. The sand is wet and mushy. Dan loves the way it feels between his fingers. He writes his name in it with his forefinger first. Next, he covers himself in the sand, giggles at how strange it feels on his skin and in his bathing suit. Mummy complained about all the sand but Dan can’t see why anyone could hate it. It’s wonderful!

Dan thinks he loves the beach. It’s like the water table at school but bigger. Moving his hands over the sand, it dawns on Dan that he can build something in the sand. Papa told him to mix the sand and the water in the bucket, turn the bucket over, and then slide the bucket off. That’s how you make castles. Dan decides he’s going to try.

The first time none of the sand comes out of the bucket. The second time, it all comes out in a big slushy mess. It takes a few more tries before Dan gets a standing structure. Not before long, he has ten little buildings in a small circle. Dan knows that his sand castle is nothing like the ones he’s seen on telly or anywhere else but he’s trying.

Dan’s working diligently when suddenly it gets dark. He thinks there must be a cloud in the way but then he hears somebody make a sound. When he looks up, it’s another boy, a bigger boy, an alpha.

“What you making?”

“Sand castle,” Dan answers carefully.

“You call that a sand castle?” the boy sneers at him then chuckles. “Are you lying to an alpha?”

Dan shakes his head quickly as he backs away from the alpha and his castle. The boy follows him up onto the sand.

“Don’t run away when I’m talking to you!” the boy yells at Dan, who wants nothing more than his Mummy’s comfort and safety. He wants to run to her. He knows he can. She’s not very far away. But something he doesn’t understand yet, something deep inside, stops him from doing just that. He was given a direct order from an alpha and therefore must obey, even if the alpha is just a child like him.

“Stay still,” the alpha tells him with an evil grin. The other boy positions himself a few feet away from Dan and kicks the dry, white sand into the omega’s face. Dan immediately protests because it hurts to have sand in his eyes, his nose, and his mouth. The alpha doesn’t stop his torment and continues kicking the minuscule grains into Dan’s face with happy laughter leaving his mouth. Dan tries to cover himself as much as possible but the damage is done and he’s crying.

“Leave him alone!”

Another boy, another alpha, comes to Dan’s side, protecting him from the flying debris.

“Why should I?” the bully asks

“Because I said so,” the other alpha tells him. Dan can tell from his voice that he’s tall and definitely older than the mean boy.

Dan doesn’t see but he hears the alpha bully stalk off. His savior kneels down and asks him to look up. He pours fresh water from a bottle over Dan’s face so that it washes away the sand and dirt. When Dan can finally see again, he finds the alpha smiling.

“There… all better.”

“Th-Thank you,” Dan stutters, knowing that he should always thank people who are lovely and nice.

“Don’t thank me,” the alpha says, “No one should treat you like that. I heard him order you around so I knew you couldn’t get away. Someone had to help.”

“Not everybody would help,” Dan tells him meekly.

The alpha nods and smiles all the same. “What’s your name?”

“Dan.”

“My name is Phil.”

Phil’s eyes are blue like the sea and his hair as dark some of the stones Dan later finds on the beach. Phil’s hands are warm and comforting like waves on the shore and Dan holds Phil’s hands as they explore. Phil will make the noise like the seagulls and that makes Dan giggle. He and Phil are like pail and shovel. They go together. But Phil is on vacation too and his family lives in a place far, far away. Dan’s never even heard of it before.

And even at the age of six, Dan knows about soul mates and perfect pairs. Omega children dream of their bonding day. Dan knows who he’s going to marry; the alpha with eyes like the sea.

Phil. 

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr  
> [dannihowell](https://danni-howell.tumblr.com/)


End file.
